Apology
by QueenCanarrowDeathstroke
Summary: Set After Season 5 Finale: Slade Wilson gets the apology he deserves.


**_I don't own Arrow. All rights go to their respective owners._**

 _Apology_

"What is he still doing here? Yeah I get it the island got blown up. Find another prison for him to rot in." Thea Queen hisses, glaring daggers at Slade Wilson.

"Second that. He's in my chair." Felicity folds her arms.

"Third that. He tried to destroy this whole city." Curtis adds.

"Can't remember you being in attendance." Slade Wilson retort, giving each of them a bored look.

"He heard enough. He knows that you're a monster. We all do. So get out of our lair, our city our home or this time I will shoot you through the head, not the shoulder."

"Thea!" The curt, sharp voice of Oliver calls out as he enters the room.

"That's enough."

"Ollie. I can't believe you would do this, do you even understand what you did? You've let him roam free. He should be locked up. No he should be dead for what he did. He killed our mother. He made us orphans!" Thea exclaims.

"Not to mention he almost cut my head off." Felicity adds.

"I think almost is the word you should be focusing on, Ms. Smoak." Slade quips back.

"He has a point. He didn't cut your head off. You're still here." Dinah shrugs.

"Kid, I like her." Slade glances up at Oliver.

"Oliver this is so insensitive on Thea. That man is a monster. You know what he did. You know what he did to you on the island…"

"Yes. Yes, Ms Smoak is, for once correct. You know what I did for you on the island, kid. I taught you how to fight. I kept you fed and safe, yes I'd abuse you in the name of training but that was all to get you home. Unfortunately you know what happened and I know I shouldn't be allowed forgiveness for what I did but the reason I'm sitting here right now, I believe counts for something, kid." Slade replies.

"Because I can't kill you."

"Can't or won't? Ollie. If you killed him right here, right now. No one would care." Thea folds her arms.

"I would care. I wouldn't condone that." Dinah retorts.

"No offense, Dinah but you've been here for five seconds. You were here during what he did." Felicity points out.

"I might not have been, but look we're all alive. He hasn't tried anything. Honestly if I didn't know the name. I'd say he's an alright guy. Despite the fact he did say that we wouldn't make it off that island and he'd take his own chances. Even then, honestly I kinda don't blame him." Dinah replies.

"What?!" Thea, Felicity, Curtis and Rene all exclaim in response.

"Well listen to yourselves! All you can focus on is his past, not who he is now. I believe he did that because of all the things you said about him, how you treated him. He showed up to help and that's the way you reacted. Sorry, Felicity but apparently you told him you didn't need his help, yet when you did need it and went asking for it. How was he supposed to respond? His allegiance is to Oliver from what I saw, not to any of you. Perhaps he'd have been more inclined to give you a hand if you'd just not said anything when he showed up with Oliver to rescue you guys, in fact turned down the offer to join Prometheus instead of treating him like a monster you believe he is, because yeah he did questionable things once upon a time under a drug that turns people to psychos. A drug which has worn of bringing him to this." Dinah gestures with her hand at Slade.

"I'll say it again, I like her." Slade smirks.

"Ohh shut up." Thea hisses.

"Thea! Listen. Some of what Dinah said, I agree with to, especially the part about the Mirakuru. Now. I'm going to tell you all something that I hope is going to set all records straight. When I met Slade, we didn't trust each other. That trust grew over time as his partner in the ASIS, his best friend, the godfather to his son, turned his back on him, betrayed him completely. Slade killed him, that man and from that day on he worked with me. He trained me. Yeah, some days it felt like out right abuse but it was to help me survive. To get me home, I told Slade this before. He helped me become a killer when I needed to be one. I am the man I am today because of Slade Wilson. That's inescapable and I don't want to escape it, you know because Slade was my friend." Oliver admits, looking firmly at Slade, who'd tilted his head in Oliver's direction upon hearing him speak.

"A woman named Shado was our friend to. We both loved her, however she chose me, not Slade. I didn't even realize he had feelings for her. To be honest I thought she wanted to be with him at first when I saw them sparring but she ended up with me and I shouldn't have been with her because. At the time I thought Sara was dead on the Gambit. She was there because I cheated on Laurel with Sara, her sister and now what? I'm suddenly wanting to be with the one girl I meet on the island. That was the old Oliver Queen showing through, the rich kid who had a different girl in his bed practically every. Yet I was with Shado anyway and it was the three of us. Until one day there was an attack on us." Oliver says to them all, noticing that there's been no interruptions so far.

"Slade and I had gone to higher ground. There was this ship firing weapons at us. Explosions everywhere I mean it was awful and yet Shado was still in the plane. So I ran after her. Slade told me to stay, I ignored him. I thought I knew best and because we were friends. Slade followed me. He didn't have to but he followed me. I remember that as if it were yesterday. Slade calling out my name, racing after me. Trying to stop me, protect me. I don't know what I didn't look back. Until I did and you know what I saw? Slade one side of him was on fire. That happened because of me. Because I didn't listen to him. I thought he was dead until this man named Ivo took me back to the island, this time Sara was with us. I was sure I was going to die. Yet despite one side of his body being covered in third degree burns and bleeding out. Slade was there. Threatening this people, standing and holding a gun to them. For me. He did that for me and because of that, we got away. I knew Slade was dying. I knew he wouldn't survive but Sara and I knew about the Mirakuru so we searched for it. We found it in this old abandoned submarine. I carried Slade down into that submarine. I didn't want to lose him. I would have done anything to save him. Yet Sara warned me that without the sedative Slade would die if I gave him the Mirakuru. He was dying anyway, so the choice was made. I made the choice and then. I watched Slade die in front of me and seeing that, will honestly haunt me for the rest of my life. He was gone. He was dead. Then. Well you all know what happened next, there was the choice. I chose Sara over Shado and she was killed but then suddenly Slade was there. It was the Mirakuru. He promised that whoever did that to Shado would suffer. It destroyed him. Sara lied at the scene. She told him Ivo just shot her. I should have said the truth there and then but Sara convinced me that was the right choice to make. I should've ignored her. I mean. I love Sara I do but then. I should've known better. She'd known Slade for five minutes I'd known him for over a year. I should have told him the truth but I didn't. That was my problem and the lie only grew, which ended in Sara making me agree to kill Ivo before Slade could get to him, to furtherly cover up my lie. When Slade heard the truth. That was it. That's what set the Mirakuru off into overdrive. He was reminded of his jealously that Shado was with me and not him and also that I'd lied to him. He saw that as a betrayal and you know, right before all this he said we were brothers. We were that close. It frightens me to believe this, but I wonder what if my lies came across as a betrayal. Like his first partner, Billy Wintergreen had done? Something like that again would break a man for sure and perhaps I did break Slade. I think I did. To conclude. I had the cure to the Mirakuru in one hand the arrow in other. You all know what I did. I chose to kill Slade. If I'd chosen to cure him he never would have killed my mom, never gone on a five year revenge scheme. None of that would have happened if I cured him because look at him now. I see him after all that time and he told me the Mirakuru finally wore off. I should have realized that it did when I cured Roy. If I'd have cured Slade earlier he could have gone home to his family but no, I chose to stab him through the eye. I can't believe what I did. I was so confident I was right up until He told me the Mirakuru wore off. I just didn't give him a chance. We were brothers and I alone betrayed that." Oliver informs them all before turning to look at Slade directly this time, looking away from the team who for once are all incapable of saying a word, all accept Thea.

"You didn't mention this before now, Ollie." She murmurs.

"Perhaps I should've done." Oliver admits.

"You have a strange way of thinking, kid." Slade admits as Oliver turns to him once more.

"Slade. I know you believe I shouldn't be forgiving of you for what you did but I believe that you shouldn't be so forgiving for what I did. I should have cured you, not stabbed an arrow through your eye. To think if I'd have cured you my mom would be standing in this room right now because the Mirakuru would have just passed. Could've gotten you the help you needed but I didn't. I caused my own problems from the start. Everything you did was because of me." Oliver speaks as he looks toward the rest of his speechless team.

"Perhaps now, you and I could start a new because if you are. I'm willing to give that a try." Oliver starts, holding out his hand.

"You and me?" He queries as Slade takes his hand, a causal smirk crossing his face.

"Just like old times."

 **Authors Note: Thank you all for reading, ok this was a rant. I just couldn't get it all out of my head. Slade is my favorite Arrowverse character and after the season five finale which was amazing because Slade was back for the first time since season 3 despite that episode being pretty dumb I mean come on, Slade was a good fighter before the Mirakuru he was highly trained ASIS agent. He would not have been beaten by Thea, a young girl with only a couple months training. I mean Slade wiped those guys of Prometheus and Talia out during the season five finale. I do look forward to seeing Slade in season six though as long as they don't kill him, or give him a really hard time. Thanks again for reading please review if you can!**


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